Visit to the Columbia River Gorge...Bonneville Dam and Horsetail Falls

I love to go exploring and yesterday proved to be a great day to do some around the Columbia River Gorge. I visited Horsetail Falls and Bonneville Dam for the first time and it was quite the education.

Horsetail Falls is part of a string of falls near Multnomah Falls which is the main tourist attraction. Horsetail is easy to get to and also easy to get up close to...the other falls are not quite that easy.

After a visit to the falls I took a short detour to Bonneville Dam. This is quite the place. The dam is huge and has a really interesting history that you can learn all about at the visitor center. Also in the visitor center you can either take the elevator to the rooftop for a great view of the entire area or down to the bottom floor to observe fish swimming through the fish ladder (where they are counted).

All in all, a super day trip to share with your family.

Meeting Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel

I got the opportunity to meet Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel earlier this month at a meet and greet prior to the band's concert at Rice Auditorium in Monmouth. Super nice guy and very tall (or I'm very short).

Sunday Loop

Sunday should really be a day of rest.

I have trouble sitting still and not doing the million things and ideas that spark in my brain on a seemingly continual basis. Sometimes, even I get tired of thinking and need to just unwind and do a little of what I've termed, "free range driving." The idea is basically to see how lost I can get in the Valley and see what we can discover.

Thankfully my wife Dawn has lived with me long enough to realize when I really need this and will often suggest it without my asking. So yesterday, with a floor that needed vacuuming, a yard that needed mowing and all the other little 1,001 things that needed doin'...we jumped in the van and headed off.

The Willamette Valley has a million things to see - if you purposely go out into it with your eyes open and your camera ready. We first drove to I-5 and headed north of Salem to the Newberg exit and headed west. I've traveled these roads a lot over the last eight years that we've lived here, but I always hope to find a road that I haven't discovered yet. Thankfully there are lots of those and we found a few.

It wasn't a long trip. We drove through Newberg, Yamhill and Carlton before making our way to McMinnville and then on 99 to Rickreall before heading home.

What do I get out of it? First I get to visit with my wife after a super hectic week. Second, I get to slowly exhale as I watch the calming green hills, orchards and assorted farm animals pass by. It only took a little while, but the relief I felt was long-lasting.

Try it for yourself next time you need a break and let me know what you discovered.

-Randy

Cherry trees

Beautiful cherry tree grove in Oak Grove, Oregon.

Pink Snow

One of my favorite times of year: when the pink snow falls!

Spring Cleaning

The cherry tree just outside my office window has pink blossoms on it. A little early I hear, so that isn’t particularly weird, but now, as of this morning, they have snow on them. It’s like the weather is having a little argument with itself. “It’s spring.” “No, it’s winter.” “No, it’s spring.”
Whatever it is, it seems like it’s just another weird season in the Willamette Valley.
Spring is also the time that you’re supposed to clean, organize and throw out all the stuff you don’t need anymore (who came up with that idea?). That’s my clever way (maybe not so clever) of segueing into this new issue of Willamette Valley Life. We’ve been doing a little design spring cleaning and have freshened up the look of the magazine. Nothing earth shattering, but a few changes nonetheless.
When my wife and I first moved to the Willamette Valley eight years ago, I was shocked to see so many covered bridges in the Valley. Let me restate that: I was completely shocked to see any covered bridges in the Valley. If you’re new to the area, or maybe you’ve been here forever and haven’t ventured out to discover these artifacts from another time, you need to put this on your spring and summer bucket list. Writer Loren Depping took a grand tour of them last month and came back with this issue’s feature on page 6.
Thank you for picking up Willamette Valley Life. I hope you enjoy reading what we’ve put together, and I hope you enjoy your spring!

Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary

Happy New Year! It seems like 2011 arrived out of nowhere, and then it was gone lickety-split!
It’s even harder to believe that this issue of Willamette Valley Life marks our second anniversary. It’s been quite the adventure and we have really enjoyed bringing all of the wonderful places and personalities to you via this publication. The Willamette Valley is overflowing with so many great destinations to explore and interesting people to read about, I don’t think we’ll ever run out of story ideas.
The magazine continues to grow and expand into all corners of the valley. Readers can now pick up Willamette Valley Life at an increasing number of locations. To find one in your area, visit our website at willamettevalleylife.com.
This issue is bursting at the seams with some excellent winter reading material. Writer Tami Richards came across a wonderful story about Dr. George Norek who not only teaches and practices Shodo calligraphy, but has found a way to deal with some significant health issues through the practice of his art.
Rachel Bucci wrote a great piece about “Smokin’ Mike” Buyes, a Willamette Valley bricklayer-turned-entrepreneur who took his passion for smoking seafood and turned it into a business. [Editor’s note: Sadly, at press time, we found out that Mike’s son, Cpl. Adam J. Buyes, was killed in Afghanistan. Our sincere condolences go out to the entire Buyes family.]
Winter is here and several of our readers have shared some of their favorite photos of the Willamette Valley in winters past. You can see their cool creations on page 6. We also came up with a list of Valley museums that you can escape to when cabin fever strikes during the cold winter.
Money guru Ken Gardner is back in this issue with some great ideas about what to do with your tax return dollars, and wine-meister Ryan Reichart shares his tips on getting the most out of your favorite Oregon sparkling wine.
As always, thanks for picking up Willamette Valley Life and please support our advertisers who help to bring issue after issue to you.